Bespoke works of art which tell the time:

The world’s first 3D fractal watch (above) . . . launching soon!

The UnconstrainedTime project:

We are for the few who choose to celebrate their uniqueness. We give our customers the experience of something truly different, something authentically creative.

UnconstrainedTime is a new conceptual starting-point for timepiece creation, breaking free from current conventions, presenting a range of truly unique new timepieces and inspiring others to explore further.

Why we’re so unusually unique.

It’s obvious when you look at our watches (above) that what we’re doing is different.

Almost all other watches are part of the ongoing evolution of the watchmaking tradition derived from engineering (whether mechanical engineering or recent digital influences) and fine jewellery. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course: there are some very beautiful and fascinating watches arising from that ongoing development. But . . .

As you can see, we’re doing something entirely different. Our watches are not starting from a basis in either aspect of the watchmaking tradition. They are about freely chosen creativity, personal exploration, and aesthetics as the starting-point (rather than the watch aesthetics being a result of, or a minor addition to, a different basis) . . . and there’s a word for that . . .

. . . “Art.“

While marketing often labels design as “art” to increase its prestige and to fit with the uniqueness and sophisticated conceptual basis that some enthusiasts are hungry for, objects must fulfil a set of accepted definitions to be genuinely classified as art. Some of those definitions are:

Art has special focus . . . it presents something as being worthy of unusual attention. Special focus is more than just being uncommon, and evokes a different response.

Art is unique . . . a copy of art is not art. Many people choose to knowingly purchase fake watches or handbags, because other people don’t see them much differently from originals (even friends who know they are fake). But, a forgery of an art work is no longer of value once it has been show to be a mere copy, even if it would still be indistinguishable from the original to most people.

Many highly regarded watches are sold in unlimited numbers. Original artworks (like our watches) are always one-offs or limited editions.

Art is creativity relating to conceptual ideas used as a means to communicate, evoke emotions and present challenging perspectives and concepts. Other notably unusual watches are typically more about factors which increase the monetary value, such as showcasing impressive mechanical design or being able to be marketed as a “world’s first” by utilizing a minor variation on existing engineering. By contrast, UnconstrainedTme watches are much more likely to evoke emotions or to inspire people to think conceptually . . . they obviously challenge conventions, making them a natural conversation starter.

Art is personal. Very few watches are clearly the creative expression of a single person (even when they’re marketed as such). Art is very much about the individual who created it, and what they are expressing, unlike design where a similarly functioning object by a different designer would be just as good. Each UnconstrainedTime limited edition or one-off watch is the creative expression of an individual, which is likely to be obvious when you look at them.

UnconstrainedTime is clearly based on the art jewellery concept (which uses complex forms and textures, and is defined as art). Most watches, in addition to their obvious engineering influence, are very much part of the fine jewellery space (which is design rather than art) being based on simple symbolic forms (such as perfect circles) and having highly polished surfaces, although there are a few recent examples of watches with some degree of an art jewellery influence added to their fine jewellery basis. A great example of the difference between fine jewellery and art jewellery influences on watch design is illustrated in my article: Are Watches Art?

Some watch collaborations add art on the dial. An otherwise conventional watch plus some unrelated art added to the dial fits the definition of decorative art (which experts agree is design, rather than art).

UnconstrainedTime watches don’t use any aspects of conventional watch design as a starting point . . . our simple, minimal time-display with neutral styling, allows us to focus primarily on freely chosen aesthetics (art focuses on aesthetics, compared to design which focuses on functionality), exploring in conceptual spaces unrelated to the engineering and fine jewellery basis of almost all conventional watchmaking. It seems to me that our watches are a much better match for the real definition of art, than any other watch brand I have come across . . . what do you think?

For the reasons and background behind our uniqueness, see “Our Story” page, and, for more details, see our blog post “a new beginning for UnconstrainedTime“

Art inspires and challenges others to explore new possibilities . . .

We look forward to discovering how the feedback from you and our other fans helps direct our exciting adventure into the unknown.

Launching soon:

The first watch we launch will be our Fractal Emergence limited-edition watch, (40mm). Fractals are a life-long artistic obsession of Chris Melchior, founder of UnconstrainedTime (see details of the artistic development of Chris Melchior).

See our launch schedule (which will be updated as our brand develops).

We’re a new British microbrand. Our watches are assembled by hand and finished by hand in the UK, with our watch-cases being cast, usually in recycled metals, by small specialist artisan foundries in Britain. Pricing will start at around $2,000. Each UnconstrainedTime watch purchase is permanently protected by a unique secure blockchain certificate of ownership.

Make sure you subscribe to our priority list for updates, news and insights into our brand . . . you’ll only get one chance to own the world’s first 3D fractal watch, or to own UnconstrainedTime serial number 0001.

Your involvement is vital in helping direct the evolution of our brand:

As a microbrand, we can genuinely listen to your input. It is your feedback and suggestions (and which of our web-pages you spend time on), along with creative input from myself and others, that will direct our exciting adventure into the unknown. . . .

If you’re reading this, your input makes a genuine difference to the evolution of our brand, which can only flourish thanks to customers and fans. Comment on our blog posts and/or social media (see the links below), let us know what you think and why.

Get updates as we evolve . . .

We later plan to release one-off watches by established creators, as well as new limited edition watch models from time to time . . . so make sure you subscribe to our priority list so you stay up to date with our news.